NCL Butler Experi

[mcnabb3801]

Hi,

 

We are hoping to hear of everyone's experience with their NCL Butler...

 

What are some surprises your Butler has done for you?

 

What are some reuests that you have had for your Butler?

 

What do they typically do? Anything they can not do? What would be the standard gratuity for an NCL Butler?

 

Stacey

[rsinj]

The butler will do whatever you ask if it is within his/her power. If they are unable to do it, they will find who can and make it happen if it is possible.

 

Our experience was very good.

 

We had very little that we asked of the butler - really only 3 things I specifically remember:

 

1. Immediately upon being shown to our suite, I asked if it was possible to get a copy of the main dining room menus for the entire week so we could plan if there were any nights we'd prefer to go to a specialty restaurant instead. We had the menus by the next morning.

 

2. We asked the room steward to empty the mini bar on 3 occasions. When it had still not been done by the third day I asked the butler to have it taken care of. He went into the hallway, grabbed the first steward he could find and told him to take care of it right then.

 

3. On the last day, I was unable to get back to the towel kiosk by the pool before it closed. I asked the butler if he could return the towels for us so we wouldn't lose our deposit.

 

The standard gratuity would be dependent on what you asked of the butler and how much he did for you. For a week long cruise, I'd say the amount could vary anywhere from $50 to $200 depending on how much you asked for and what exactly was done for you. Did you have breakfast in your suite every morning? Ask that you have special afternoon snacks waiting for you each day (ours did this all on his own surprising us)? Any other requests? Again, I think people can use some common sense and figure out what a reasonable amount for a gratuity would be.

 

Mind you, the butler is going to give you his phone number so you can reach him/her at any time with any requests. You're never going to need to call the front desk and be put in to a queue with a hundred other people that need something.

 

 

Howard

[ImADaneFan]

Hi,

 

We are hoping to hear of everyone's experience with their NCL Butler...

 

What are some surprises your Butler has done for you?

 

What are some reuests that you have had for your Butler?

 

What do they typically do? Anything they can not do? What would be the standard gratuity for an NCL Butler?

 

Stacey

We have had only one "less than stellar" butler. Our room steward did more for us than our butler, so he got most of her tip and a glowing style card.:D

We have had 2 outstanding butlers that I can remember.

 

John D'Sousa - Star GV. We were asking how NCL made a BBC (Bailey's Banana Colada) He went to one of the bars and got the recipe and brought us a blender, so we could make them ourselves. We were using a LOT of ice, so he brought us a large cooler, and kept it full of ice at all times. He brought us dinner after a very busy day ashore. There were 6 of us and we had dinner from 4 different restaurants. He set the tables outside with linen/china and served each course. It was great.

We also held a tour for the members of our cruise critic roll call. John put together a spread in the GV courtyard with drinks and snacks.

 

Roy Peregrino - Gem CY Villa. Roy overheard me telling DH that I was going to the buffet to get a pretzel roll for a snack. The stopped me and told me that "that was what he was for. He would go and get me a pretzel roll." Then he made sure that I had pretzel rolls every afternoon, fresh from the oven, in addition to the normal suite treats.

 

The butlers on NCL always seem to know what we wanted.:D Sometimes we didn't even know that we wanted anything. :p:D;)

 

When we tip we start at $10pp/pd for the butler and $10pd for the concierge, $5pp/pd for the room steward. Then we adjust up/down depending on our request and the service received.

[Family Travel Story]

On the Pearl last January, Johnathan our buttler was outstanding. It was our first time in the courtyard and we did not really know what to ask. He was so helpful and on one occasion, I even had an issue with technology and use of my laptop, Jonathan made sure even though he did not have the answers he found someone who did.

 

The best thing he did for us was one morning we had an early shore excursion, and we asked for room service breakfast. Well, when we woke up, we found our diningroom table set with linens and silverware, and our first course of fruit and pastries waiting for us. I don't know how he knew but with in 2 minutes of finishing our first course, there he was at the door with the hot items we ordered.

[MMMD]

On the other thread you started I just replied with our experience concerning the Butler.

 

As for tipping: On our cruise we set aside $40 per day ($20pp) to split between the Butler & Concierge. We ended up giving the Concierge a bit more because he really went out of his way for us.

 

We also gave our Steward an extra $125, as he did a lot of little things for us and was so sweet. During the week we also left him a couple $5's & $10's when we asked for something extra.

 

We tipped at all restaurants. We usually left $10 for breakfast or lunch at Cagneys (all the staff in Cagneys are wonderful), and $20 or so for dinner at all Specialty restaurants.

We left $10 for dinner in the MDR the 2 times we ate there and in the Blue Lagoon.

 

Tipping is a very personal decision. Some I'm sure tip more and some less,but these amounts are what we were comfortable leaving.

[cooncat_mom]

I think it really depends on who your butler is as to what they do. We did NCL in an Aft PH and were totally underwhelmed by the suite life. I had asked, during the week, for 2 things - chairs and water for the coffee maker. When I asked on the first day for 2 balcony chairs, the butler said that was the room steward's job. I immediately said "Thank you I'll talk to the room steward" and the butler said the they would - and sounded slightly annoyed. When our coffee maker ran out of water, I asked for some more and said it wasn't urgent (we're very easy suite people). The butler came over and checked the coffeemaker (really, it SAID "Needs water"!) then told me it was odd because most people don't like this coffee, (Truth is, we weren't fond of it either, but it was less gruesome than the other coffee!). I thanked the butler (who said they'd bring some water back) and said there was no rush - told the butler it must be busy for them...The butler said they weren't busy at all. Fortunately, we didn't get the room for the suite perks - we got it for the aft balcony (worth every penny - just beautiful!)

 

Our room steward, on the other hand, was very nice and although we never saw or called the Concierge, he did know who we were and checked in with us when he ran across us the last night of the trip.

[david_sobe]

These questions about butlers frequently get asked here on this board. I have always had great butlers. But butler experience will vary from ship to ship. For example, the Epic has far too many suites for very detailed personalized service. But they work their butt off nonetheless. Remember that butlers are NOT covered in the auto gratuity with the waitresses or maids. They work on tips. I always hate to hear how some exploit their butler by making them serve their friends in their suite or asking for ridiculous stuff and then complaining about them. Since they work on tips, they will do anything you ask. So keep that in mind the next time someone says their butler had poor service.

 

Ok back to the orginal question.

On Epic DW loved the chocolate dessert one night at the Epic club and she asked for it one night in the suite. When we got back from the show, there were 2 in the fridge.

 

The butlers work so hard so I dont like to ask for crazy things. On Epic, i got to see how suite guests would bring their friends to the Villas and then have their butler walk them all to the show. The butlers were zig zagging all over the ship. On Epic, they have Aft suites, spa suites, and Villa suites. So they really work hard running all over the place. One night we asked for 2 drinks delivered and our butler was so busy, she could not even do it. A waiter from a bar came instead.

 

I think we tipped our butler $100 on Epic

[Cruiser#5]

The butlers we've had on many occasions have made our vacation the best.

In fact on all of our trips, we have had the pleasure of dealing with butlers.

 

Every night one of our butlers found out we love snacking at night so, he would find out what our favourite snack was and would deliver it to us each night. Needless to say, I walked off the ship a bit more heavier than I wanted to be :)

Anytime I bought liquor from the islands, NCL would hold onto it until your last night. You have to be there a certain time to pick it up and its usually around the time I eat dinner and go to a So instead of ruining our dinner and show plans lining up for it, he would get it for us

 

One day while we were on an excursion, we were late getting back and prior to going on the excursion i had arranged to have dinner delivered a certain time. The butler realize we were not back and had arrangements made that as soon as we got on the ship, he would get a call so that he can have the meal delivered.

 

I have to admit not all butlers have the same quality as I found when we were on the EPIC, we met our butler on the first day with a group of other suite PAX. He gave us the group tour. We made our way to our suite on our own and I never saw him until the last night of our trip.

 

Overall, I still enjoy my suite life and i get to feel like royalty:D

[bryanjaync]

Discretion is the one of the most valuable assets in a butler.

 

On a recent cruise, our butler, Alfred, kept my super-hero identity secret.

[che5904]

I've posted a compiled butler request list on the other thread you started

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1435860

[Laszlo]

My wife and I must be the odd people out. We never used the Butler or the Concierge for anything. Our Butler did bring us snacks every evening but that was about it. It was simply enough to pick up the phone and make our own reservations for dinner. Our concierge we saw on the first day and the last night. Both him and our butler stopped by our dinner table on the last night and ask why we had not called them. I said we were both pretty self reliant and really did not need them to do anything for us. They laughed and said they wish more people were like us. Our room steward Eric was great, the guy was always making or turning down the bed or cleaning something up. One day he even washed our balcony deck because we had a lot of soot. Needless to say we tipped him $175 for the week and the butler and concierge must less

[retiredonthesea]

The best thing one of our Butlers did was set up a huge Halloween party we had in our suite.(Sun) We had everything from chips & dips, peel & eat shrimp, caviar, veggie tray, cheese/crackers ect. The room steward brought in extra chairs and placed them on the balcony and rearranged the room. We had 18 or more people. We had already ordered a bar set-up so he just brought in some mixes and a large pitcher so I could mix up some of my special witches brew!! We had a great time and we tipped both Butlers and Steward very well along with the Con. who did alot of scheduling for us.

 

On another cruise (Star) the Butler realized our fruit always seemed to be gone and asked if we needed more throughout the day--we told him our granddaughters next door in the 2 mini suites always came over and grabbed some. Well the next day both of the mini suites (with our GD's staying in them) had two huge bskts of fruit. He would also bring up pizza for the girls when we had room service for us adults.

 

Never have had a bad Butler on NCL, but Celebrity-whole new story!:rolleyes:

 

We always set aside a few hundred $$$ for the Butler and Concierge and go from there--sometimes less sometimes more like the case of the Halloween parties!! Same with room stewards.

[Zimomiller]

I agree with the comments that the Butlers and concierge vary greatly in their service provided.

 

On the Sky we had amazing Butlers that brought us breakfast every morning and dinner every evening from wherever we wanted. They were always reaching out to us to see if we needed anything or had any special requests. We really had no need of a concierge.

 

On the Epic, we saw our Butler briefly at embarkation and never heard from him again all week. Our concierge was amazing and seemed to be everywhere.

 

On the Jewel, The Butler fulfilled a couple requests but really made no effort to seek us out. The concierge was non existent. Calling to make dinner reservations was obvioulsy a chore for her.

 

It is up to us to give specific feedback so that poor Bulers and concierge staff are not perpetuated. If they need re training or replacement so be it, but unless we say something nothing happens. (positive as well as negative comments)

[BIG_Steve]

On the Pearl last January, Johnathan our buttler was outstanding.

 

Johnathan is "da bomb."

 

 

Besides bringing you snacks everyday, you call your butler for in-room dining. He will set the table nicely and put out your meal. You can have your butler bring you DVD's and (maybe?) music CDs for the entertainment system in the room. You can utilize him for things like having a cocktail party in your cabin, or having someone else share a meal in your cabin. Our Butler cheerfully brought us breakfast at 5:15am when we were in Ketchikan.

 

Just ask, if something can not be done, they'll tell you. Tip: You can have your butler bring you breakfast from Cagneys to your suite. Jonathan got a blank look on his face when I asked, a couple of seconds later he said "of course!" He came with a Cagneys menu later the same day. We had Cagneys breakfast in our suite several times.

 

It seems to me that the somewhat general consensus here is about $100.00 for 7 days. Adjust up or down based on level of service. Jonathan was great, so we went $200.00 for him. I don't recall what we tipped the concierge. We used him several times, and he always put on a good show of busting his butt to get us exactly what we wanted. I think we left him $125.00, or something like that. The room stewards tip is included in the daily service charge that NCL bills you for. Ours was a good one, so we gave him $50.00 more.

[Rahi]

I did not like the Butler on the Jewel.--Erlindo, or something like that. We were made to feel like we were asking too much , when we asked for so little. Will NEVER again make the same mistake of getting a cabin for that reason. We were in CV .. He really took away from our trip. He was paid accordingly, and we complained at end of trip.

[Senoj84]

New to NCL, please explain what you mean by the term butler? Is that your cabin steward or the cabin stewards supervisor or Maitre D?

[GGCRUISIN]

We were recently on the JEWEL in a Garden Villa, Nelson was our Butler and Monica was our Concierge. They were both exceptional. They seemed to always know what we needed and how to help us. We were a group of 22 people ( 6 in the suite) and they were very accommodating. It was out very first suite experience, but now I fear we can never go back....:rolleyes:

[fiftyguy]

Senoj84 - if you look on the NCL website, for any ship, you'll see a suite category. As part of the description of the suite it will say "butler and concierage available" or something like that. The butler will take care of all your needs "inside" the cabin (meal in your cabin etc) while the concierage will take care of your needs "outside" the cabin (dinner reservations, tender tickets, etc). You will also have a steward for housekeeping in the cabin.

[Hikini]

This last cruise my 85 year old father was just 2 weeks away from having spine surgery and he was barely able to get around. He is a very non-fussy person and he was completely content to stay in the suite for the majority of the cruise, although he did go to Cagney's with us about 50% of the times we went there.

 

On the first full day both the butler (Crisol - goes by Cris) and the room stewards realized that Dad was in the suite most of the time and my Mom was with him about half of the time. They took it upon themselves to check in on him/them multiple times a day. Dad never asked for anything but he didn't have to - they were always looking after him. The room stewards were quite funny.

 

Cris brought any food we ordered - even just from the room service menu. He would set the table up and when we were done he would take everything away.

 

Twice we called for a wheelchair for Dad and Cris would take care of it in less than 5 minutes.

 

There were many more things we could have used him for but we didn't feel the need to. He told us on the first day that if we wanted to borrow a DVD from their collection (catalog provided) that he would bring them. We would have done that, except I had taken several along that we had been wanting to get caught up on at home. I will do the next time too, but if we run out, I'll call the butler!:D

[halos]

Discretion is the one of the most valuable assets in a butler.

 

On a recent cruise, our butler, Alfred, kept my super-hero identity secret.

:D:D Love it.

[McDebbie]

On our Sky cruise we had the butler bring a big bucket of ice each day at 5pm (like a champagne bucket) and a bucket of beer for DH. We had the Owners Suite and I guess he realized which mixers we liked for our drinks because they were always refreshed, we didn't need to tell him.

 

On the Pearl Alaska cruise we did not use the butler for much. We asked that the lounge chairs be switched out to deck chairs and the room steward did that. I guess we are pretty low maintenance when it comes to butlers.

[EileenN]

On our recent cruise on the Jewel we were thrilled to see Adrian Bica as concierge. Love, love, love him. If he was us waiting in line for the large restaurants, he would take us right thru to a table himself and let us know..call Me.

We had Antonio a second time as butler and he remembered our likes at least one year later. He was great. We have never had a bad butler...some more personable that others but always there to meet the need.

[Duff Man]

We have only had great experiences with butlers and concierges.

 

Another tip, the butler is a great way to get mechanical issues in your suite taken care of. Once we had a television issue, called the butler and a maintenance guy was there in about 10 minutes. Last cruise, the shower was not draining (for the life of me I don't understand why prior guests did not say anything), we called the butler on our way out for breakfast, by the time we got back it was taken care of.

 

My wife has used the concierge to get a manicure appointment even when the spa says they have no openings.

 

I've mentioned before, if you are in a suite with the portable phone, program the concierge and butler's extension numbers into the phone and don't be afraid to use it. We once called the concierge from the pier on our way back to the ship!

 

:)

[searoses]

would have been WAY more convenient if the butler had mentioned the phone was portable and could be taken off the ship.

[Senoj84]

Senoj84 - if you look on the NCL website, for any ship, you'll see a suite category. As part of the description of the suite it will say "butler and concierage available" or something like that. The butler will take care of all your needs "inside" the cabin (meal in your cabin etc) while the concierage will take care of your needs "outside" the cabin (dinner reservations, tender tickets, etc). You will also have a steward for housekeeping in the cabin.

 

Thanks for the clarification!